Morgan English – Stoned + Toned | Founder

The Cannabis consumer has long played a vital role in the shaping of counterculture, but for the so-called stoner who wants to get ripped before getting ripped (or whatever version of fitness you’re engaged in), opportunities are few and far between. Until now, where Stoned + Toned is bringing the worlds together in the most wellness-based of ways.

“IT WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE to see at the launch event how many people wanted to come out and smoke,” remarks Stoned + Toned Founder Morgan English. “I mean, I was honestly worried that people wouldn’t want to smoke, or they would just want to come work out and support us because they know us personally. Everyone wanted to smoke, and then the people who normally didn’t smoke before a workout came out and were like ‘I’ve never enjoyed working out so much.’ It was remarkable to be quite honest.
We were completely blown away.”

While people may have a difficult time envisioning weed and workouts working together in a productive fashion, English was sure to note that the synergies outpace the stereotypes in this arena.

Here, what it means to be stoned takes on a whole new meaning.

“Yeah, we’re stoned! Mindfully stoned,” says English.

“A lot of people have said things like ‘how ripped do I have to be to do the workout?’ It’s really not about getting overly-high, it’s more about allowing Cannabis to bring you into the moment or to ease pain if you have inflammation, and it’s something that just enhances the workout.”

THE WORKOUT

“So, in our videos online, you’ll often see us taking two or three puffs and then getting into the workout. We lean much more into the side of micro-dosing before the workout, as opposed to smoking a whole one gram joint.”

“At our launch event, Molly and I definitely smoked a little more before our class than we normally do, but that was because it was a social setting. We weren’t too high – it was more of a way to be more present here in the moment, have your stress eased, and have your nerves about teaching the class alleviated. It allows us to just connect better with everyone in the room.”

And with two ways to enjoy the class – both online and at the occasional pop-up – individuals have the opportunity to access this new age approach to working out from the privacy of their own home, or an invigorating space shared with others.

As workouts and Cannabis can cause the occasional anxiety, having these two options makes the concept all the more accessible.

“I used to hate working out. I’m not gonna lie. I used to despise it, and it was something that I always felt I had to do because I ate something, or because I wasn’t the right number on a scale,” says English. “And it wasn’t until I just combined working out with weed, that all those thoughts stopped, and eventually they changed into, ‘I can do this next 30 second sprint’ or‘I’m strong enough to do this, I’ve been here before, I can do it again.’”

“It really fuels my workout,” says English. “And for someone with social anxiety, I don’t know if I ever would have been able to walk into a spin studio without consuming Cannabis beforehand, because I would have been too nervous. But, because of Cannabis, I was not only able to enhance my workout, I was able to make human connections.”

“You’re worth setting aside time in the day, you’re worth the energy that you’re going to give yourself.”

BUILDING COMMUNITY

“I’m a part of a larger fitness community here in Long Beach, I don’t just do our classes online,” says English. “For pop-ups, we are trying to get into the groove of doing them more regularly. We are hoping to do more, especially throughout 2020 so that we can hit more cities. We definitely want to see more people sign up online. We love doing our film days and making workouts more accessible. Our memberships are just twenty bucks a month, so it’s not your 100+ dollar a month membership for a boutique studio, or something like that.”

The team at Stoned + Toned also gives their online community access to videos four at a time, as opposed to dropping them weekly. “If you want to do them earlier in the month, you can,” says English. “I like to do one video multiple times in a week and kind of see the strength that I build from the first time I did it, to the last time I did it on Friday. Your body is used to the movement and so you can get into it more, and your strength builds when you’re working the same parts of your body out. So we promote one video every Monday, but we release four videos at a time for the month.”

“We film everything in one take,” English adds. “It’s just real. I drop my weights. Especially on the first day of filming – I was not nearly as strong as I am now. So, you see it in real time. That way, you’re on that journey with us. And who does 100% on every rep every time? It’s just not real. And we want it to be fun. We film every 30-minute workout in one take. Our intros we do until we get them right, and then from that we go straight into the workout. We film five to six of those in one day, so we’re dead afterwards.”

GETTING RIPPED

For those looking to incorporate Cannabis into their fitness regimen alongside fellow proponents of plant-based healing, Stoned + Toned is an outlet worthy of exploration. But at the end of the day, we could all use a healthy dose of self work. “It’s more than just the power of movement, it’s that you continuously show up for yourself,” says English.

“Because that’s what working out is – it’s self work. You’re saying that you’re worth it. You’re worth setting aside time in the day, you’re worth the energy that you’re going to give yourself. And that will change your world. If you show up enough for yourself, it will filter into everything else you do. It really is awesome when you give it enough energy and put it in for weeks. Don’t just agree to do it for one week, but make it a habit.”

Learn more and find out about classes at StonedandToned.com

“For someone with social anxiety, I don’t know if I ever would have been able to walk into a spin studio without consuming Cannabis beforehand, because I would have been too nervous.”